The Ottawa free trader., 1887-10-08
Thankful Blossom
A Romance Of the Jerseys, l779.
BY BRET HARTE.
(Copyrighted by Houghton, Mifilin & Co, and
published by arrangement with theml
CHAPTER I.


mornings thaw into rigid record OF That
DAVIS wayfaring on the Baskingridge road.
The hoof prints Of cavalry, the deep ruts
left by baggage wagons, and the deeper
channels worn by artillery, lay stark and
cold In the waning light Of an April day.
There were icicles on the fences, u rlmc OF
silver on the wndward bark OF naples,
and occasional bare spots on the rocky
protuberances OF the road, as II nature
had worn herself out ut the knees and ell
bows through long waiting for the tardy
spring. A few leaves disinterred by the
thaw became crisp again, and rustled In
the wind making the summer thing SO
remote that all human hope and conjec-
ture fed before them.
Here and there the waysde fences and
walls were broken down or dismantled;
md beyond them fields OF snow down
trodden and discolored and strewn with
fragments of leather, camp equpage, har-
ness and cast of clothing, showed traces
of the recent encampment and congrega-
ton OF men On some there were still
standing the ruins OF rudely constructed
cabins, or the semblance Of fortincation
equally rude and incomplete. fox
stealing along half filed ditch, u wolf
sinking behind an earthwork, typifled the
human abandonment and desolntion.
One by one the faint sunset tnts faded
from the sky; the far of crests OF the
Orange hills grew darker; the nearer files
of pines on the Whatnong mountain be-
came mere black backgrounds; and with
the coming on Of night came too an Icy 81
lence that seemed to stiffen and arrest the
very WIND itself. The crisp leaves no
longer rustled; the waving whips OF alder
and willow snapped no longer; the icicles
no longer dropped a cold fruitage from
barren branch and spray, and the roadside
trees relapsed into stony quiet, SO that the
sound Of horses hoOfs breaking through
the thin, duh, lusterless films Of leo that
patched the furrowed road might have
been heard by the nearest Continental
picket mile away.
Either a knowledge OF this, or the diff
culties Of the road, evidently irritated tho
viewless horseman. Long before he be-
came visible, his voice was heard In half
suppressed objurgatiOn Of the road, OF his
beast, OF the country generally STEADY,
you jadc" Jump, you devil, jump"
"Curse the road, and the beggarly farm
ers that burst not mend I'll" And then
the moving bulk Of horse and rider sud
denly arose above the hill, fioundered and
splashed, and then rs suddenly disap-
peared, and the rattling hoOf beats ceased
The stranger had turned into deserted
lane still cushioned with untrOdden snow.
A stone wall on one hand-in better keep
ing and condition than the boundary
monuments Of the outlying fields-be-
spoke protection and exclusiveness. Half
way up the lane the rider checked his
speed, and, dismounting, tied his horse to
Q wayade sapling. This done, no went
cautiously forward toward tho end Of the
lane, and farmhouse from whose gable
window light twinkled through tho
deepening night. Suddenly he stopped,
hesitated, and uttered an impatient cjacu-
lation. He turned sharply on his heel,
and retraced his steps until opposite n
farm shed that stood n few PAGES from the
wall Hard by, large elm cast the
wall and surrounding snow. The stranger
stepped into this shadow, and at once
seemed TO become part OF its trembling
intricacies.
At the present moment 1t was certainly
bleak place for a tryst. There was snow
yet clinging to the trunk of the tree, and
o film OF ice on its bark; the adjacent wall
was slippery with frost, and fringed with
icicles Yet In all there was a ludicrous
suggestion Of some sentiment past and un'
reasonable; several dislodged stones Of tic
wall were so disposed as to form Il bench
and seats, and under the elm trees film OF
Ice could still be seen carved on its bark
the efligy Of heart divers initials and the
legend, Thine Forever"
The stranger, however, kept his eye,
fixed only on the farm shed and the oper
field beside 1t. Five minutes passed il
fruitless expectancy. Ten minutesl Ant
then the rising moon slowly lifted hersc
over the black range Of the Orange hills
and looked at him, blushing little as 4
the appointment were her own.
The face and figure thus illuminated
were those Of a strongly built, handsom,
man Of 80, 30 sOldierly In bearing that 4
needed not the bufr epaulets and facing
TO show his captains rank in the Cont
neital army. Yet there was something Ii
his facial expression that contradicted tn
manliness Of his presence-an Irritation
and querulousness that were inconsisten
with his size and strength. This fretful
ness increased as the moments went b,
without sign or motion In the family II
field beyond, until. in peevish exaspera
tson, he began TO kick the nearer stone
against tho wall.
"Moo-oo-wr'
The soldier started. Not that he wa
frightened, nor TINT he had failed to rec
ognize In these prolonged syllables tn
deep chested, half drowsy low of COW
but that It was 80 near him-evidentl
1ust beside the wall. II an object g
bulky could have approached him 70 nea